2021…at last
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Jan
4, 2021 Week: 1 Day: 4 |
Local: H 42°\ L 21°\Ave. Sky Cover: 5% |
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Wind: 10mph\Gusts: 19mph |
Nearest
lightning: 1945mi.; Active fire: 59mi |
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Low Risk of Fire |
Visibility: 10mi |
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Record: 64°[1927] Record: -22°[1971] |
Jan
Averages: 44°/\16° (4 days with moisture) |
Today’s Quote
Nature was here a series
of wonders, and a fund of delight.
Daniel Boone
Random Tidbits
Perhaps
the eeriest tradition out there, locals in this South American country burn
scarecrows, or effigies, to dispel any bad vibes from the past year. Sometimes,
they are dressed to resemble people that they dislike and are then burned as a
symbol of “forgiving and forgetting”. Families make their scarecrows together
as a fun bonding activity and the atmosphere is light-hearted — even if the
effigies look terrifying. The scarecrows are often accompanied by photographs
or messages of negative things that represent the past year. Besides the fires,
every city in Ecuador throws high-energy parties with music, drinks and dancing
late into the night. Whether you’re visiting picturesque Quito or bustling
Guayaquil, you’re sure to have the most unique New Year’s Eve celebration yet.
Circle Obsessed in the Philippines
In
this Southeast Asian country, they are obsessed with all things round on New
Year’s Eve. Circular objects are thought to be sacred and to bring good fortune
to your household in the new year. Coins in pockets, polka-dotted clothes and
round foods like grapes and oranges are all examples of things you will find in
every household during this holiday. There is much more to see here than just
coins and grapes. Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, is home to
beautiful Spanish colonial architecture and an awesome fireworks show on New
Year’s Eve that you won’t want to miss.
A Little Humor
Q: What do you call a
small dog? A subwoofer!.
True Things
French
man hid Russian wife in suitcase
A Frenchman was detained
by Polish border guards after a search of his suitcase revealed shocking
contents -- his Russian bride. Polish Border Guard officers at the Terespol
border crossing from Belarus said they searched the luggage of a French train
passenger in his 60s and discovered his large suitcase was concealing his
Russian wife, who is in her 30s. The guards said the couple told them the woman
was hiding in the suitcase because they feared she would not be allowed to
cross the border from Belarus to Poland due to her lack of European Union
citizenship. Dariusz Sienicki, spokesman for Polish Border Guard, said the
woman "was in good shape and wasn't in need of any medical attention."
Sienicki said the man was unaware that his wife would have been allowed to
cross the border because he possessed the proper documentation showing their
marital ties. "If she had traveled sitting next to her husband, she would
have gone through smoothly," Sienicki said. The man and woman were
detained on a charge of attempting to evade border control. They could each
face up to three years in prison if convicted. "This was the first time
I've seen someone travel like this. She very well could have been a victim of
human trafficking," Sienicki said.
Monthly Observations
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Oatmeal Month Link |
Weekly Observations
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Christmas Bird Count Week Link |
Thru 1/5 |
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Diet Resolution Week |
1-7 |
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Silent Record Week |
1-7 |
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New Year's Resolutions Week |
1-8 Link |
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Someday We'll Laugh About This Week |
2-8 |
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National Personal Trainer Awareness
Week [cancelled] |
2-9 |
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Home Office Safety and Security
Week Link |
3-9 |
Today’s Observations
Blue Monday
Congress Assembles
Dimpled Chad Day
Divorce Monday Link
Handsel Day Link
National Spaghetti
Day
National Weigh-In Day
Pop Music Chart Day
"Thank God It's Monday" Day
Tom Thumb Day
Trivia Day
World Braille Day Link
World Hypnotism Day Link
My Sometmes-Long-Winded
Thoughts
It was very chilly last night.
Weather guy says we will soon be warming up. I can’t wait. I have self-quarantined
for 8 days and need to get things on Monday. Fresh veggies are at the top of
the list.
I checked my account, and I got my $600. I am not in financial trouble
like so many others, but I don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. I’ll spend it
buying local.
Flagstaff had its driest year since records were kept (1898). There
was only 9.59” which is far below the average 12”. To make it worse, 2020 was
the 5th warmest year.
There are crazies everywhere. It is unusual that both Mitch McConnell’s
home and Nancy Pelosi’s home were vandalized on the same night. Our democracy
is in deep trouble.
In AZ: a twitter battle between Meagan McCain and Kelly Ward (head of
GOP in AZ). Ward tweeted that the Republican party has changed and gone are the
days of McCain…and others. An insensitive tweet for sure.
My maternal grandmother was a pre-insulin diabetic and a schoolteacher.
She lost her sight in the mid 1950’s. I remember her learning Braille and
reading to me from those bumpy pages. Today is the birthday of Louis Braille
and I say thanks. Yesterday I put a quilt her mother [my great-grandmother]
made in the mid-1930’s and put it on my bed. It is very warm.
Daily Puzzle
Answer at the bottom of the page
I have a big mouth and I am also quite loud,
I get involved in everyone’s dirty business but I do not gossip. What am I?
Historical Events
1865 – The New York Stock Exchange opened its first permanent
headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City.
1903 – Thomas Edison filmed the electrocution of a murdering elephant,
Topsy, to show the dangers of Alternating Current electricity.
1958 NZ team led by Edmund Hillary reaches the South Pole, the 1st to
reach the Pole overland using motor vehicles and the 1st since Amundsen in 1911
and Scott in 1912
1959 – The USSR’s Luna 1 became the first spacecraft to reach the
vicinity of the Moon.
1965 LBJ's "Great Society" State of the Union Address
1989 George H. W. Bush is 1st Vice President since Martin Van Buren to
declare himself President of the United States
2007 The 110th United States Congress convenes and elects Nancy Pelosi
as the 1st female Speaker of the House
2020 Australian bushfires death toll reaches 23 as PM Scott Morrison
announces national defense force will be employed to help fight the more than
200 fires, amid criticism of his leadership
Birthdays Today
@84 – Isaac Newton,
English mathematician, and physicist (d. 1727)
@78 – Jacob Grimm, German
writer, Grimm’s Fairy Tales (d. 1863)
@71 – Floyd Patterson, boxer
(died in 2006; Alzheimer’s/Prostate cancer)
@45 – General Tom Thumb [Charles
Stratton], circus performer (d. 1883; stroke)
@43 – Louis Braille, French
educator, invented Braille (d. 1852; TB)
Puzzle Answer
A vacuum cleaner.
